Period Drama Films

Cowriter and director George Clooney adapts author Robert M. Edsel’s book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History to tell the incredible true story of the seven art historians and museum curators who went behind enemy lines during World War II on a mission to recover some of the world’s greatest works of art. As the Third Reich begins to topple, the German army receives explicit orders to destroy every work of art in their possession. Determined to prevent 1000 years of culture from going up in flames, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt assembles an unlikely task force comprised entirely of art experts to enter Germany, recover the works of art, and ensure they are returned to their rightful owners. With little knowledge of modern weapons or warfare tactics, the ragtag squadron successfully makes their way into enemy territory before realizing they’ve got their work cut out for them. Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Jean Dujardin star.

BBC film new period drama Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell for Christmas 2014 in St John’s Square

St John’s square, Wakefield BBC filming new drama

Published on the 18 January 2014

A city square will become the star of the small screen as film crews prepare to move in for the making of a magical new BBC drama.

Flim crews will be preparing the set of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell in St John’s Square, St John’s North and South Parade today. (Saturday)

And the drama, based on the best-selling novel by Susanna Clarke, and boasting a seasoned cast of actors, will form the centre piece of the channel’s 2014 Christmas schedule.

It tells the story of a time at the beginning of the 19th Century, when England no longer believes in practical magic.

But Mr Norrell, of Hurtfew Abbey, stuns the city of York, when he brings the minster’s statues to life, and is then invited to London to help the government in the war against Napoleon.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell stars Eddie Marsan, of Best of Men, Ray Donovan and Filth fame, Olivier award-winning Bertie Carvel, known for roles in Restless, Hidden and Matilda, Paul Kaye, of Game of Thrones and Stella fame plus, Marc Warren from Hustle and Mad Dogs and Alice Englert, who starred in Ginger and Rosa and Beautiful Creatures.

Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC drama commissioning, said: “We have secured the most original, talented and dynamic cast and team to produce this brand new adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s award-winning novel.

“This cements our reputation for bold and ambitious drama and I can’t wait to see Bertie and Eddie bring these wonderful characters to life in a unique and exciting way.”

Last night, at the 25th annual Producers Guild of America awards, this strange apparition appeared. Sherlock Holmes (as played by Robert Downey Jr.) met Sherlock Holmes (as played by Benedict Cumberbatch) at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

And while this was going on, PBS aired “The Empty Hearse,” the first episode of Season Three of Benedict’s Sherlock (recap here). That is a LOT of deduction in a short space of time.

And there’s no sign of it letting up. Today, a spin-off iOS app, inviting fans to become part of Sherlock’s Homeless Network, was released in the U.K.

Look, here’s a trailer:

Sherlock: The Network allows you to help Holmes and Watson solve new cases, whether by passing on messages, or becoming a spy. Your job is to gather information and help solve one of ten new cases, and yes, there is specially shot new footage of Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and the others.*The app will be released on January 27 in the U.S., and if you want to see more, read the review at Sherlockology.

The Imitation Game

2014 Film

The drama, a biopic of Alan Turing, also stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Allen Leech and Matthew Beard. One of Britain’s most extraordinary unsung heroes, Turing was the pioneer of modern-day computing, Turing is credited with cracking the German Enigma code and the film is a nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team at Britain’s top-secret code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II. Turing, whose contributions and genius significantly shortened the war, saving thousands of lives, was the eventual victim of an unenlightened British Establishment, but his work and legacy live on.

The Imitation Game is an upcoming historical drama film about British wartime cryptographer Alan Turing who cracked Nazi Germany’s Enigma code during World War II and was later criminally prosecuted for his homosexuality. Wikipedia

Starz announced today that the second season of the historical fantasy “Da Vinci’s Demons,” an original series created by David S. Goyer (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, Man of Steel, upcoming Batman vs. Superman), will premiere in the U.S. on Saturday, March 22nd at 9pm ET/PT.

The ten-episode drama, produced by Adjacent Productions, follows the ‘untold’ story of the world’s greatest genius, Leonardo da Vinci, during his turbulent youth during the Renaissance. Starz greenlit “Da Vinci’s Demons” for a second season following its record-setting first season weekend debut on Starz on Friday April 12, 2013.

Outside of the United States and English-speaking Canada, “Da Vinci’s Demons” is distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide, in partnership with FOX International Channels (FIC) who broadcasts the series to audiences in 125 countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa following Starz’s exclusive premiere in the U.S.

Brilliant and passionate, the 25-year- old Leonardo da Vinci is an artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist. As a free thinker, with intellect and talents that are almost superhuman, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time.

Starring Tom Riley as the title character, season two of “Da Vinci’s Demons,” finds Florence thrown into chaos in the wake of the Pazzi conspiracy. Lorenzo is gravely ill and Leonardo da Vinci must push the limits of his mind and body to defend the city against the forces of Rome. While the Medicis go to unthinkable lengths to deal with new threats, da Vinci continues on his quest to find the fabled Book of Leaves and uncover the secret history of his mother. He’ll come to realize that he has lethal competition in his quest — new enemies who may be even worse than the forces of Pope Sixtus. His search will take him to faraway lands and force him to reevaluate everything he knew about the world and his own history.

Jane Tranter, head of Adjacent Productions, served as Executive Producer. The series was shot in Swansea during the summer and fall of 2013. The series is produced by Adjacent Productions, a label launched in 2012 that sits alongside BBC Worldwide Productions in order to identify new and original programming created and produced under the company’s umbrella.

If you’ve been wondering exactly what Alan Rickman’s been up to since he took off the curly wig and stopped checking the floor for dog mess as Hilly Krystal in CBGB, he’s gone back to what he does best. Buttoned-up and starchy men whose passions are buried far beneath a crusty outer shell of respectability.

Look! He’s doing it here, in the trailer for A Promise, in which he plays Karl Hoffmeister, a somewhat stiff, but respected owner of a failing factory in pre-WWI Germany. Concerned for the future, he hires a young man called Ludwig (played by Game of Thrones star Richard Madden) to help take over his more energetic duties.

Sadly, Ludwig finds himself irresistably drawn to Hoffmeister’s young wife Charlotte (Rebecca Hall), especially after he takes on the role of live-in tutor to her young child. It’s at this point that history intervenes, and propriety is stretched to the very limits:

ALPHA – March

Star Sky by Two Steps from Hell – Battle Cry Album

Here we are
Riding the sky
Painting the night with the sun
You and I
Mirrors of night
Twin flames of fire
Lit in another time and place

I knew your name
I knew your face
Your love and grace
Past and present now embrace
Worlds collide in inner space
Unstoppable, the song we play

[Chorus]
Burn the page for me
I cannot erase the time of sleep
I cannot be loved so set me free
I cannot deliver your love or caress your soul so
Turn that page for me
I cannot embrace the touch that you give
I cannot find solace in your words
I cannot deliver you your love
Or caress your soul

[Verse 2]
Age to age
I feel the call
Memory of future dreams
You and I
Riding the sky
Keeping the fire bright
From another time and place

I know your name
I know your face
Your touch and grace
All of time cannot erase
What our hearts remember stays
Forever on a song we play

[Chorus]
Burn the page for me
I cannot erase the time of sleep
I cannot be loved so set me free
I cannot deliver your love or caress your soul so
Turn that page for me
I cannot embrace the touch that you give
I cannot find solace in your words
I cannot deliver you your love
Or caress your soul